Chinese rebrand Mwana Africa

The pan-African resources company, active in diamond, gold and nickel mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zimbabwe and South Africa, recently fell into Chinese hands after ousting its founder and former chief executive Kalaa Mpinga in an alleged boardroom coup.

It is expected that trading in the company’s shares on AIM under its new name of Asa Resource Group Plc. under the new TIDM, ASA will commence on Thursday, October 1, 2015,” the company said on Tuesday after holding its annual general meeting in London.

After more than a year of disagreements between Mpinga, and Chinese shareholders, the Congolese left the leadership of the company he founded.

His decision follows the vote of no confidence orchestrated by the Chinese at an extraordinary general meeting convened on June 8 in London.

“I tried to fight to keep the independence of the group and its development in Africa, but we were no longer on the same wavelength with Chinese shareholders,” Mpinga said then.

Mwana, listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), suffered a drop in its market capitalisation by 85 percent in five years, following the decline of mining courses and investor concerns over Zimbabwe and DRC.

China International Mining Group Corporation (CIMGC) came to the rescue of the company in 2013, taking 21 percent of the group’s shares in exchange for money and fees, and bringing other investors in the Middle Kingdom, including the Industrialist Yat Hoi Ning, holder of 7,6 percent of Mwana Africa shares.

The latest development comes after the company this week announced it had raised aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $4,4 million through the open offer aimed at developing its South African diamond operations.

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GermainT - 4 December 2015

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